Artificial Affinity
by ChinchillaDragoon
Summary: Not much is known about Elk. So I've decided to change that! Please R&R! I'll add later chapters if people like it!
1. A Suitable Day

Artificial Affinity  
  
Well, I never thought I'd be writing an Elk based story. Don't get me wrong, I do like the guy, but heck, there're hardly any Elk stories that I have found. Either A: None of you people who are reading this care enough to bother and write a story. Or B: I'm a hopeless person who can't find an abundance of Elk stories. Yup, that's about it. So onward to reading the story because your brain will fry if I continue to talk!  
  
Oh yeah, this piece of crap disclaimer. I don't own any of the .Hack things. Who the heck on this site does?! Oh well. But I do know that I'm eating this cookie right here as you read this. And it's ALL MINE! Mwahahahahah *cough* *cough*  
  
Prologue: A Suitable Day  
  
In a field of vast amounts of aroma filled plants, there sat a boy; every now and then, the gusts of wind would play with his cerulean hair and taunt his amethyst eyes to participate in a staring contest, even though it knew he would always lose. His garments were somewhat plain: A royal azure cloak lined with a rather dull golden hue and some scarlet jewels, and atop of his head lay a cap with the same design. Nothing too spectacular the say the least.  
  
It wasn't like he cared about his appearance either. Nor did he care about being strong or revered.  
  
'This is a place where I can start anew...'  
  
He had figured that if he came to this place every day, someone would find him. Someone he could befriend; he, however, never really was the extroverted type.  
  
He sighed as he retrieved his staff from the grasses' grasp. So much for finding a friend today, perhaps tomorrow will be more suitable he thought.  
  
He dusted his garments and reached for a sprite ocarina from his cloak. Gently holding the delicate object, he played a few notes.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
"This has never happened before. Why now of all times, " he questioned, not angry but more surprised. He peered into the small, carved holes. There was no trace of anything blocking the notes' whispers. He decided that maybe that was a glitch of some sort and grabbed another ocarina. Surely both of them wouldn't cease to function properly. Once again, the same results appeared. No success with either of them was found.  
  
Then the answer hit him. 'Oh no...If they don't work that must mean...there's an enemy in the area...' He slowly turned his head to see if this hostile character was anywhere near him. Unable to see clearly behind him, he took a few paces to solve that. The grass beneath his feet made silent rustles, attracting the enemy's attention: More correctly, the enemies' attentions. A party of four goblins quickly surrounded him.  
  
He knew better than to cast a spell. With so much time required to complete the incantation, the goblins would've each taken a decent good three punches at him. 'I guess this is the end.' He mused. He closed his eyes hoping that the onslaught would not be painful.  
  
"Hey, if you're going to pick on someone, let it be me!" yelled an unfamiliar character.  
  
The boy opened his eyes and saw a feminine feline protecting him. She had a rich coat of violet fur and fierce golden eyes. Clad in nothing but a simple emerald breastplate and several other pieces of armor such as gauntlets, the feline wielded a broad sword. She rushed forward and took a slice out of three of the goblins, vanquishing them to the depths of Unknown. The remaining goblin took note of the impending death and fled.  
  
"Hmph, so much for fighting honorably, " she said, her tail swerving right to left.  
  
'C'mon, this is your chance to befriend someone. Don't screw it up now!' He thought. "Uh...thanks, " he said while grinning sheepishly. A crease appeared at the tips of her mouth.  
  
"No problem. Heh, I really am sorry. I should've introduced myself before taking action. I'm Mia."  
  
He could feel her eyes boring right into him, but in a sincere kind of way. It certainly wasn't the same look she gave to those goblins. "...I'm...Elk."  
  
"Well, Elk, care to join me in a dungeon quest? I could use a mage's aiding, " Mia asked, her smile still pasted on her face. Elk nodded and followed her to the nearest dungeon.  
  
'I suppose today was a suitable day for befriending someone'. Elk pondered.  
  
Yay, I'm done. Now to get some sleep, but before I do that, here's a note for all of you who probably hate me just because my story may have sucked to you. I will use your flames to bake my next batch of cookies! More for me! Ha! So don't flame me unless you want me to have a bunch of cookies! Thanks. And another thing, PLEASE REVIEW! I need to know if I'm wasting my time or not. *nod* *nod* Thanks again! 


	2. Aromatic Grass!

I'm so sorry for not updating sooner, but I have a ton of homework. Yeah, you know the story: Too much homework = no time to update! Now I've good news and bad news. Good news is that I haven't gotten any flames. *Cheers in background* Bad news is I didn't make any cookies. XD  
  
DISCLAIMER THINGY: I don't own anything of .Hack.I wish I did  
though.  
  
Aromatic Grass?!  
  
Elk took a pace backwards, his staff trailing by the tail creating a shrill scrapping noise. Never in his life had he actually went into a dungeon. He had thought all was well just treading in the lonely corridors that beckoned to be full. That was, until Mia and he had encountered a few of the remaining inhabitants. Of course, they were nothing for the amethyst feline. A stroke of her blade and they were felled.  
  
"Hey, Elk, do you mind giving me a hand next time?" Mia queried, her eyebrow arched. She pierced the monster's flesh with a swift thrust towards its abdomen.  
  
Elk nodded, "yeah, sorry...it's my first time being in a dungeon." He admitted slightly flustered by not being of any use to her thus far. 'She wanted a mage's aiding, not a mage's presence,' Elk reminded himself. He watched the monster disintegrate in midair. Perhaps it was the monster ashes that were spread like a blanket in the dungeon. Whatever the case was, he gave it no more thought. They continued down the corridors till an intersection appeared.  
  
"Hmm...which way?" Mia looked at the four doors. She couldn't care less which path they took, but she took notice of Elk's uneasiness. She purged her items pouch of its Fairy Orb. A quaint item actually, it basked in the radiance of jade light. She released it into the air. The orb quickly dispersed into each door, its hue tainted that of the walls' bare slate color as it passed by. While waiting for the orb to point out the correct route, Mia sparked a conversation. "So, what's your reason for being here?"  
  
Elk sat on the dust-layered floors. He knew the reason very well...  
  
To become friends with others, to actually be something great in someone else's eyes. Although that sounds like wanting to be popular, that wasn't really the case. He just wanted recognition. It was a great gift to behold in his view. That, however, is coming from the boy at school who couldn't start a conversation if his life depended on it. He could recall every day he spent in loneliness eyeing his peers as they would frequently discuss the latest gossip issues. The guilt really struck him when it came to remembering someone's name. He couldn't even do that, no matter how long he had observed him or her. The knife impaled him deeply when he knew no one wanted to talk to him just because he happened to do well in school. Everyone just assumes you're fine, you're too smart to talk to. Yet all of that doesn't matter in this world. None of it matters really; no one cares about that. They just care about having fun, something that may take Elk, himself, a long period of time to achieve.  
  
Mia sat with him, her fur now slightly covered with dust particles matching Elk's partially covered vest. "You're going to think this sounds ridiculous, but it's because...I wanted to find a friend," he said. There, he told her. Now all he had to do was wait for her to make him feel foolish by laughing or taunting him; despite his thoughts on her reactions, she just tilted her head as if pleading for more information. Her tail moved momentary.  
  
"So, your life other than this one isn't doing well, I presume?" she asked, her tail now curled. Elk could easily notice how eager she was to hear more. It was just as obvious as those girls in his class that entwined their hair with their fingers when flirting with some so-called 'hot guy.'  
  
"I suppose that's what you may say," he replied. He was going to ask her about her life, but the orb returned with information relating to the end of the dungeon. Mia rose at once to her feet dusting her fur. Elk did likewise with his cloak.  
  
"Well now, how about we finish this little dungeon?" she inquired. Elk simply gave her another one of his usual 'yes' nods. They took the northern passage discovering a stairway leading downward another level. Their echoing footsteps now ceased as an odd sound replaced them. A sound related to that of a fan. In front of them, their eyes feasted upon the flaxen, illuminated beauty of the Gott Statue. A strange statue, it appeared to be like a dragon purged of its wings ready to strike intruders with its bulky sword.  
  
Elk stood back from the masterpiece at hand. Mia paid no mind to the boy as she opened the chest in front of the statue, anticipation shown in her tail's movement. She removed the contents of the chest and brought them to Elk.  
  
"Aromatic grass?! You mean we traveled through a monster infested building just for some grass?" Elk asked, somewhat displeased with the prize. Mia smiled at the boy's minor disappointment.  
  
"Well, keep in mind, we only traveled about three floors. If it were eight floors, then the award wouldn't be so light. Besides, this stuff is rare and one of my favorite items."  
  
"You mean, you like to collect grass in chests?" he asked a bit of annoyance lingering in his voice.  
  
Mia pointed at the grass in her palm, "yeah, it's sort of like my hobby. Think it silly if you will, but to me, this is like collecting cards. If you notice, there are different shades of grasses and each has a different value depending on who wants it." She gave Elk the blue tinted grass and kept the turquoise one for herself.  
  
Elk placed the grass in a safe spot within his cloak. A smile formed behind his mask of somberness. "Thanks..." he said. She gestured with her hand saying it was no problem.  
  
Somehow, grass just became one of his favorite things...  
  
Phew, sorry if it's short, but I'll try and update to add more. Now quickly disperse unless you wish to see the bloodshed of my war against the teachers' menacing works of evil over the weekends! (AKA homework) After you have done that, please review and make me a happy person. *nod nod* 


	3. Interceding Illusions

Yay, I got some more reviews! Sorry for not updating quickly, but I do have reasons/excuses (har har). As you all know, I do have homework. Besides that, I really haven't played the game for some time now, and I sort of don't remember much. *slams head on desk* Ah, and I've been reading some other fantastic stories and their reviews, which I may add, some people just love to say "oh you should play the whole game" or "watch the whole series," and it's utterly annoying considering some others put in massive spoilers. So from reading such things, I've decided to drastically reduce writing chapters until I play all of the games and watch a few episodes I missed out on earlier. Then others won't have to tell me I wrote something wrongly. (and if I DID, then it was on purpose)  
  
Oh yeah, someone reminded me about the sprite ocarina. Yes, I do know that you can't use it to warp out of a field, but I was aiming to make The World a little more realistic. I mean, it's sort of odd to have a person all of a sudden go 'poof' and appear somewhere else. That's why I used to ocarina. It just seemed a little more realistic. (yeah, play an instrument and teleport, REALLY realistic. XD) Hey, even more reason to why it wasn't working! But thanks anyways for reminding me.  
  
Well, sorry again for not keeping a constant update. I do hope you understand my predicament. So I'm making this chapter extra long so you won't bug me about wasting time and making short little chapters.  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own .Hack, and you probably don't either - enough said.  
  
Interceding Illusions  
  
Elk strode through the tall grass of another field. He now felt fairly confident in his abilities to walk alone in a more dangerous area. Spending about a few months training with Mia had paid off. He had obtained quite some experience and found some garments that suited him for his qualities as a mage. Sure, he didn't have a good variety of offensive spells but with a decent supply of healing spells, who really needed offense? After all, he did have Mia's aiding in disposing of enemies.  
  
He recalled some of Mia's words of wisdom. Always keep at least a few incantation excerpts from the books they found on a few dungeon raids. "You may never know when an enemy stronger than you will appear and just a bit of magic can make a difference," Elk repeated her words, slightly smiling while he finished.  
  
Through the vast horizon of grass, he made his way towards a fountain. Actually he was going to the tree that shaded the fountain. He abruptly sat down and placed his staff to his right. He set free one of his Fairy Orbs to scan the field. It levitated in the air for a few seconds and then sped through the field at amazing speeds. According to its scouting, Elk left no area untouched. No more of the beasts roamed on top of the land. Elk sighed as he contemplated about the past months...  
  
He remembered the past events from the vaguest of memories. The school dance was then. Of course he did care about it in some aspects, even if he refused to show it, but it wasn't like he was going to be with someone he truly admired. No, indeed he wouldn't be. After translating his friend's most recent note, Elk knew his chances of being with that one girl had decreased dramatically.  
  
'Stupid foreign language notes... Perhaps, ignorance really is bliss. At least,' he paused for a moment, 'at least it would've been in that case.' He lowered his head a bit. 'It doesn't matter. That's in the past, and I can't do anything about it now...' Once more he caught himself thinking about his world. He let it pass and resumed concentrating about the world he was currently in.  
  
After that note, Elk couldn't let go of the pain so easily, but he managed to find something to preoccupy himself with. This world kept him busy and content, seeing how he could just ignore his troubles. Moreover, he had found Mia around that time. Elk could depend on Mia being there for him, and he couldn't help but think he was growing closer to her. The way she would invite him on quests and listen to his stories about his world.  
  
'Damn...I mustn't think that way about her, not if I want to survive another unexpected event. Besides, I don't even know anything about her; furthermore, it wouldn't be right of me to use her as a substitute for my loss in my world anyway. Even if I could, how in the world do I know she won't push me aside for another person?' He shook his head, 'I must refrain from thinking of this sick game people call love. Mia is just a friend, nothing more, nothing less. And if she could be something more, it would be a sister.'  
  
Elk nodded in approval of his decision. He did feel slightly embarrassed that he used a foul word, but it was in his head and he intended to keep it there. He retrieved his staff and headed to Mac Anu, the town where Mia had asked Elk to meet her.  
  
"Hello, Mia," Elk greeted. He still couldn't figure out the reason to why Mia would title one of her messages 'urgent'. She hadn't done that before, so he decided it must be rather important to her if he did show up.  
  
"Hi, Elk. I'm glad you could make it."  
  
Elk observed some of the people who passed by, "so...what was so urgent?"  
  
"I heard of some rumors about an unbeatable monster. You up for a challenge?" Mia placed her weapon in front of her to lean on it.  
  
Elk looked at the floor and then back at Mia. "...Yeah...Maybe the monster might have some aromatic grass," he replied with interest. "Oh, by the way, I found an area with a lot of aromatic grass the other day. Want to go there first?"  
  
"Sure. Let's go," Mia slung her sword over her shoulder and started walking towards the gate with Elk right behind her.  
  
At that moment another young boy was passing by. He wore garments of a scarlet color and a unique golden pattern. His hair and eyes were of an azure pigment. He had a crimson triangular pattern upon his face, but none of this is not what attracted the feline character. No, indeed, she saw something past all of that and rushed to the new boy to greet him.  
  
"Mia?" Elk asked with concern as he watched his closest friend run off without reason. He too picked up his staff and ran after her. Mia started to slow down as she came into contact with the other boy.  
  
"Hey, you! Yes, you," Mia addressed the unknown character, who looked dumbfounded as he pointed to himself, "That's a unique bracelet you have there."  
  
"Can you see it?" he asked. Mia nodded and held his wrist, pointing to the bracelet with her other hand.  
  
"Do you mean to tell me that you can't see this nice bracelet? Well, if you know it's there, it's the same thing as being able to see it, right?"  
  
Elk, who nearly fell over from running too fast while making an abrupt halt, panted and said, "what bracelet, Mia? I don't see anything there..."  
  
Mia averted her gaze from the bracelet and glanced at Elk. She released the boy's wrist and started to make her way to the Chaos Gate, "Well, thanks a lot...for letting me look at your bracelet. I have a feeling that we'll meet again."  
  
Elk started walking away as well, but paused to observe the other character present. 'Meet again? ...I certainly do hope not...Ack...I'm staring again...' He clutched his staff tightly and turned away, trying to regain some composure. "Wait, Mia! What about the aromatic grass?!" he yelled, once again following the feline.  
  
He slowly walked up the few cracked stone steps, leading him to Mia whom waited for him to input the code that would transport them to Elk's previously mentioned field. "Mia...what was that about back there? And..." his voice began to wane as soon as he realized Mia wasn't aware of his question. "...Mia...?"  
  
She shook her head as if trying to dispose of an unwanted thought, "Sorry, my mind slipped away for a moment."  
  
She watched as a slight smile creased the tips of his lips, changing his sullen expression into a more cheery one. "Oh, you mean you were away from your keyboard," he responded, hoping that was the case and not the idea of Mia thinking about that other boy.  
  
Mia blinked a few times at his added statement, "I guess you could call it that...Now, about that field." she drew her sword and tapped the ground underneath the Chaos Gate. Elk complied and ran his hand through the cerulean aura captured within the golden ring, looking for the correct keywords. Once he had chosen the field, he removed his hand and looked up at Mia.  
  
'I just know she'll love all the grass there.' he mused. The code became encrypted into a different language and swirled around both of their bodies, leaving nothing left once it disappeared.  
  
"The patch is around here somewhere. Ah, there it is," he said, pointing to a distant fountain - the same one he had stopped by earlier. Elk knew that she couldn't see it from their current position and decided he would lead the way. He beckoned Mia to follow and she did.  
  
Mia started to grow tired of hearing the soft treading of their feet along the tufts of various plants; she longed for a bit of the suspense from a decent skirmish. It seemed, however, that Elk had picked a very well monster-ridden land. "My, you sure are confident around here," she spoke, just so she could hear something instead of the rustling of their footsteps.  
  
Elk grinned at her remark. He nodded saying, "I've been training in various places. I figured you might have been sleeping so I didn't want to ask you to come with me so late."  
  
She chuckled a bit, "there's no need to justify yourself. Well, thanks for being so considerate anyway. I was just wondering. Why didn't you just bring the grass with you?"  
  
Elk's cheeks grew slightly warmer with a tint of pink, "I was afraid that I might miss something you would've wanted. Besides, my pockets were filled with a lot of magical excerpts." He quickened his pace so she wouldn't find out his embarrassment. Truth be told, his pockets were actually quite empty, seeing how he used most of his excerpts on the monsters he battled with earlier. He was just finding another excuse to get her to travel and let him lead the way. He did enjoy going with Mia to her fields, but he didn't like fighting a lot of monsters in a dungeon. In fact, he despised going into those eerie buildings, especially the ones that appeared they would close their mouths and entwine their constantly moving fingers in front to prevent any escape. It reminded him of a movie he caught a glimpse of when he was watching his television set as a very young boy late in the night. Occasionally, he still continued to dread the very scene in which a group of people was mutilating each other - slicing off eyeballs, fingers, and whatnot. He shook his head, reminding himself that it was in a television set and none of it truthfully occurred.  
  
"Wow, Elk, this is amazing. Why didn't you tell me there was practically an ocean of aromatic grass here? I'll probably come here and collect some more later," she said while gathering a few blades of the plants. Elk sat down in the traditional Indian style, placing his hands atop his knees. Mia took her seat next to him. "Hm..."  
  
"What is it, Mia?" he asked, tilting his head. He usually slanted his head whenever he was curious about Mia's actions or remarks. He thought it would stress his concern more and show that he acknowledged her just in case she did not hear his queries due to his soft-spoken nature.  
  
"I was just thinking. Maybe we should let that boy come to that dungeon with the unbeatable monster."  
  
"Wha - but Mia, you barely met him a while back! I don't think you should invite a stranger so soon. There's no telling what could happen. I mean, he might even be a player killer..."  
  
She giggled at his immediate response, "don't worry. I didn't mean I would invite him to join us. I would like to see the power of that bracelet."  
  
Elk frowned. 'Even when he isn't around she is still thinking about him and that stupid bracelet...' "I didn't see any bracelet...what's so special about it anyway?"  
  
Mia rose from her spot and shrugged. "Nothing really, I guess you'll just see when he comes."  
  
"What do you mean 'when he comes?' How do you know he'll come?"  
  
She looked down at him and smirked, which made Elk quiver at the thought of what she was going to do to convince that boy to come into a dungeon. "I'm sure there's something I can find that will sway his interest."  
  
"So I guess we'll wait on that dungeon until he comes huh?" Elk asked.  
  
Mia nodded, "yes, but I promise to contact him soon. Whether or not he comes is on his accord, but something tells me he'll come. Well, I'll see you later then." She played a sprite ocarina and left the area.  
  
"bye...," his voice died - she had left before she could hear his farewell. '...there's no use in getting upset...but I can't just deny the emotion at this point...well, I suppose if she's happy this way, that's what matters...' He, too, left after that last thought.  
  
Elk was back at the Chaos Gate in a matter of minutes. He strode to the stone steps and sat down, lying his head upon his splayed fingers after placing his staff atop his lap. His leather arm covering rubbed against his face, reminding him of Mia's hands' padded touch when she helped him cross some obstacles on a few of their previous adventures. He sighed and let his eyelids drape across his eyes. 'Mia's probably going to take at least a few days or so...I guess I'll just wait a while. I really don't feel like eating dinner at the moment'  
  
"Aha! He of Aloof Body! What causes such a lad as you to be so glum? Why, I bet if thou accompanied me on my trek, he would surely become less distant! How about it?"  
  
This new, semi high-pitched voice startled Elk. He rose the curtains from his eyes to find the person whom spoke to him. The voice belonged to a middle aged man, adorned in the armor of jade hues and a ruby shoulder pad. He had bushy raven hair and olive eyes. His body was quite massive, perhaps twice the size of Elk's, and he grasped an axe with both hands.  
  
'I see no harm in it, but then I'd be seen as a hypocrite to Mia if she saw me follow this seemingly "okay" guy. Well, he can't hurt me within the town unless he wished to risk punishment from the Crimson Knights.' Elk placed his hands in his lap, right above the preceding staff. "Well, I don't feel like leaving the town at the moment, but if you want, I could just follow you around here."  
  
The man grinned, "well, that's splendid news to hear! Where shall we journey, He of Aloof Body? Perhaps thou could assist me in purchasing fine excerpts of death bringing destruction! Or we could place some of my excess goods within the keeps of the Elf Haven. I, Piros, think it would be most worth our while to speak with the life events recorder. Then he may write down another amazing chapter about how I disposed of evil menaces in a distant land!"  
  
Elk blinked in sheer amazement at the amount of words spoken in such little time. 'So, his name's Piros eh? Well, I best let him know who I am...maybe he'll stop calling me "He of Aloof Body"...' He stood up and held his staff parallel to the ground. "...Alright, let's go to the recorder then...By the way, my name's...Elk...not 'He of Aloof Body.' Did you...hear me, Piros?"  
  
Piros nodded, "yes, indeed, I did hear you He of Aloof Body. Thou say your name is Elk. However, I think 'He of Aloof Body' suits you more than the characteristics of an animal. Well then, let's be on our way!"  
  
Elk couldn't help but sough at the man's ignorance. It was ironic that a man with such eloquence could be so oblivious to another person's feelings. Perhaps he had no empathy, Elk thought. It mattered little though. Elk was surprisingly a bit glad that another person had decided to open up to him. That didn't mean he'd completely trust this Piros, some cautions must always be taken - just as Mia had mentioned in his training.  
  
After the recorder had written down all of the events that had happened to both males, Piros headed to the Chaos Gate. "Have you ever been to another town, He of Aloof Body?" he paused to wait for Elk's response, which was a 'no' shake of his head, "well, how does going to one sound now?"  
  
"What...town is it?" Elk asked. If he didn't know of the place, he refused to go.  
  
"Ah, have thou heard of Dun Loireag? It's not very far, and it's full of life and prosperity. I can assure you that more people travel to that area than this one. Well, do you want to come?" Piros said with some more of his cheery, extroverted manner.  
  
'Dun Loireag? Mia spoke to me about that city before. Hm...I suppose nothing bad could happen if I traveled to another town.' He accepted the offer. When Piros hadn't moved, Elk became a little wary about what was holding their departure, "um...Piros? How come we're...not going anywhere?"  
  
Piros held out his axe in front of the boy. Elk noted that there were several marks on the weapon's spine. "First, thou must give me his sign. For without it, we cannot travel to the same spot, unless you know the area already, but thou said you haven't traveled from this small town. Lend me your staff for a moment." They exchanged items and engraved their corresponding marks onto the spines of their weapons. Elk chuckled nervously as he tried to shake off his shame for being so stupid to forget. Piros searched through the cerulean matter of the Chaos Gate and retrieved his hand within a few seconds.  
  
The golden, encrypted language enveloped their bodies and transported them to the city of Dun Loireag. What Piros had said was true. The area had many more inhabitants than that of Mac Anu. However, for such a thriving area, it was a little outdated in terms of civilization. There were pastures dotted with violet and azure flowers, and the shops were constructed from what seemed to be a tent instead of Mac Anu's bricks. But there was another site that was much different from Mac Anu - a ranch. "He of Aloof Body, I must leave you for now. I have devoted this time to trading items with another. I shall see thou later," Piros explained before he departed to find the person whom promised to trade with him. Elk walked across a few planks that lead the ranch.  
  
'Whoa...this place isn't too bad. I wonder what kind of animals they herd here.wha-' the petite animal withdrew from Elk's leg. He slightly cringed at the awkward animal. It had a somewhat possessed appearance in its blood-red oval orbs. The body's structure resembled that of a pig with a cow's head. 'Ugh...what a repulsive creature...'  
  
"Daddy, feed me!" it begged. Elk nearly jumped back.  
  
"I see that little grunty's grown attached to you. Say, would you like to raise it?" the rancher asked. Elk looked at the man dressed in bright tan and dawn-tinted peasant clothing. A mustache rested peacefully under his elongated nose.  
  
The grunty nudged his "Daddy's" ankle with his snout. "I'm hungry, Daddy!"  
  
Elk's icy impression couldn't remain frozen as he soon found himself caressing the animal's snow-white fur. He thought about how lonely the creature must have been - after all, it seemed out of place, just like Elk's own misfit self. "Is...it the only child around here?" The rancher nodded and explained how all the other infant grunties had been taken by other travelers so that they could be properly raised and be of aid. Elk lightly patted the grunty's head and retrieved a small satchel, giving the quadruped whatever little food he had accumulated during his training sessions. "I can...keep it?"  
  
The rancher laughed heartily. "Sure, that little one's been alone for some time now. Make sure you feed it and get it checked every once in a while. There've been some new diseases out there recently."  
  
"I...will do my best to care for it..." he said while smiling. Even if it DID have an unusually disturbing appearance, Elk still gave into the animal's charm.  
  
"Oink! Daddy, do you have any more food?"  
  
Just to stress further, I have almost completely forgotten what happens in the first game. So if something's wrong, I wanted it to be. After all, it gets boring just reading a fanfiction that says everything that happened in the game, right? If something didn't make sense to you, just let me know and I'll clarify what I was writing. I.e. engraving signs into their weapons = trading member addresses. All right, with that said, please review! Thankyou. 


	4. 24 hours X 2

All right, in response to a request for some of Elk's offline life, I've decided that it would be worth the while, seeing how not EVERYBODY can stay logged onto a game forever (I came really close though!). So here comes the section dedicated to real life Elk.  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of .Hack. If you want to sue me, go ahead. The most you'll be getting from me is about two dollars. So it isn't worth it! XD  
  
Twenty-four Hours Multiplied by Two  
  
Elk woke up to the shrill cry of his alarm clock. He rubbed his eyes with clenched fists and yawned soon after. His disheveled, ebony hair spread across his pale skin, barring his deep, sapphire eyes. 'Great...another school day. Well, at least there's only a few more weeks left...' he thought while preparing himself for the school day routine.  
  
He walked down the usual path to the usual boring classes he would have to take. However, he paused and remembered the events that had happened last year. It felt like he was reliving the whole thing but in his private world and nobody was able to see but him.  
  
"You know? What you said Monday, about nobody liking you, wasn't true," he started.  
  
The girl walked a little slower, delaying her departure from him at their usual fork in the hallway. She clutched her binders to her chest and pierced his eyes with her chocolate ones. "You...really think so?" He watched as a slight grin appeared on her normally depressed face. "Thanks. Well, see you later."  
  
Once the girl walked into her respectable classroom, he was encountered by some of his own friends. "Heh heh, nice going man! You got her eating right out of your hand!"  
  
"How could you lead her on like that?!" As well as the girl's own classmates. "I can't believe you didn't think about her feelings!"  
  
"Yeah, neither can I!"  
  
"You tell that jerk, girl!"  
  
"Hey, it's not his fault if 'oh I'm so depressed yet so bright' is so easily influenced!" his friend shot back. Before any more arguments could arise, and before the tardy bell would destroy his clean slate, Anthony continued the way to his math class.  
  
'Is that really what she thought I meant by that?' he contemplated. He couldn't bear the fact that one of his only friends would think of him as a possible suitor. He placed his pencil between his middle and index finger, twirling it back and forth. 'I only meant to brighten her mood. She's seemed so unhappy ever since I've met her, that it's almost pitiful.'  
  
He thought the whole sequence of his classes was appalling. It appeared to be nearly the same as the year he had spent with Fallon - art class in first period, Math second, Enrichment third, and so on.  
  
"Anthony!" His teacher's voice echoed harshly in his ears, disrupting his thoughts.  
  
"Huh? Oh...I'm sorry..."  
  
"Well, what's the answer?"  
  
He had forgotten all about his Algebra class that he was taking. Pragmatically, he was meant to take Pre-Algebra, but there was no more room in those classes, so the school thought he was well developed enough to take an advanced eighth grade course.  
  
"Um...the quadratic equation is negative B plus or minus the square root of B squared minus the quantity four times A times C, all of that divided by two A..."  
  
"That is correct. Thank you, Anthony. Now, Matthew..."  
  
'Phew...that was close...What was I thinking about again? Oh yeah, Fallon...'  
  
'Now that I think about it...when WAS the first time that we met? Physical Education in fifth grade, yeah, I remembered meeting her then. I feel sort of badly for treating her wrongly...'  
  
In fifth grade, Anthony used to be a real slacker. He would put off his schoolwork till the last minute or forget to bring his work home to finish it. Of course, like any disciplining parents, his were no exception. He lost all his luxuriant privileges – his television set, radio, video games and systems, time with the few friends he had, and even the door to his room. The DOOR to his room of all things, why did they have to take that away? The missing piece constantly reminded him to do more work than needed. He didn't like the feeling of being exposed to everything and everyone. There was no privacy in a room without a door. Moreover, there certainly was no protection either.  
  
'And I made fun of her just because I was so insecure about my own self...Who am I fooling? I still am insecure, but I guess it wasn't as bad as before.'  
  
He couldn't hold back the faint smirk. He had to admit that he did have some fun 'torturing' her. But...what was so fun about correcting her mistakes and watching her frustration of her embarrassment? She always took things so seriously. He remembered the times when the coaches made everyone play dodge ball, and he watched her look childish by saying stuff like "watch out for that ball!" and "you're going to die if you go into their territory!" Yes, it was interesting just watching her and some of her flaws. Yet, she was determined and never backed down from a challenge, unless it was something utterly stupid like failing a test or something of the sort. He'd hate to admit it, but he was becoming quite good friends with the girl.  
  
'Argh...I need to stop acting like an infatuated boy. It will only disrupt my learning sessions.'  
  
So he cast all side thoughts away and continued the day with no more painful thoughts about that stupid love game. Two days had passed since he had gone to his virtual paradise with his much admired feline. He wondered if she thought about him; and if she did, would she admit it? He had to see what she was doing.  
  
"Anthony, there's a girl on the phone for you," came his mother's voice. He inwardly cursed the interruption the girl had caused. He wouldn't be able to see Mia if this Debbie would never cease calling him and asking him questions about his personal being. He must admit, he sometimes did enjoy the phone call, but only when he felt like no one really cared about him. He constantly wondered why she called him of all the boys. What exactly did she want from him?  
  
"Hello?" he answered.  
  
His mother was correct, it was a girl, but he couldn't place his finger on whom it was. "Hello, Anthony? Do you remember me?"  
  
His voice was laced with a bit of embarrassment, "um...no, not at the moment, sorry."  
  
"It's Fallon! You know, from fifth and sixth grade?"  
  
'Fallon? I know people had asked me that she had wanted my email address, but I thought they were just lying. Besides, I never had one to give to her even if they weren't lying.' His quickly responded in a cheerful manner, "really? Wow, it's been a while, but it's still great to hear from you. How did you know my phone number?"  
  
Fallon replied with a bit of a smug expression, "heh heh, well, I looked it up in the phone book."  
  
'The phone book? Why didn't I think of that?'  
  
She continued, "so, how've you been?"  
  
"Fine, I've been doing well in school surprisingly."  
  
"So, you're not slacking off like in Ms. Chaco's class?" He could hear her chuckle at the comment.  
  
"I was never slacking off in the first place! She was the one losing my work and being late to class, remember?"  
  
"Yeah, I do. That's why you called her 'Chaco-late'," they both laughed at that memory.  
  
"So what about you? What have you been doing?"  
  
"Eh...nothing much. I've just been participating in the anime club here. Any events for you?"  
  
"Well, actually, I have this ROTC ball I'm going to be attending. I was considering on asking this one girl to come with me. Do you know a person named Courtney?"  
  
For a second, he thought he had noticed a slight sullen voice come through the phone, "no, I don't," she paused and laced her voice with a more light-hearted one, "well, she's one lucky girl. Ha ha, my friends have been telling me I should do something like that too."  
  
"What? Go to a school dance or something?"  
  
"Yeah, something around that area. They keep telling me things like 'Fallon, you need to get a boyfriend' and 'Fallon, stop looking so sad'."  
  
"Wait, you've never had a boyfriend?" This was getting interesting, a girl who looked like she had everything in wits and decent appearance was without a suitor? Sure, she had the traits of any African American – dark tone, semi-flat nose, delicate onyx hair, medium-sized structured body. To top it off, she was very intelligent compared to everyone in her grade level and the one above it.  
  
She hesitated on her answer, as if she was tying to forget an experience that led her to dread, 'well, yeah. I never have really."  
  
Normally, Anthony would leave a person be, and not discuss his or her love interest, but he couldn't help his curiosity, "well, do you have your eye on someone?"  
  
"Um...this may sound a bit odd, but yes, I do."  
  
"There's nothing wrong with that. It's a part of growing up. We're really close to high school, so you know, it's all right," he replied. He couldn't believe the words coming out of his own mouth. Never had he talked about the matter with so much care, he used to brush it off casually.  
  
"Heh heh, I see. Well, how about you? Do you have your eye on anyone?"  
  
'Crap...she wasn't supposed to ask me that' "Well, I have my eye on a few. If you don't mind me asking, who has the honor of holding your heart?"  
  
"Well...he has an 'A' in his name and goes to the school you go to."  
  
Anthony paused to think about who else had an 'A' in his school. It suddenly hit him on whom she was discussing. 'She can't possibly be serious. How could she? How could she actually still like me after all this time?' His heart began flail like a fish out of water. "R-really? Since when?"  
  
"I still do now," her voice resounded within his head.  
  
Moments of silence spread between both of them, although it felt as if it were an eternity until one of them spoke.  
  
"Well, you know, I happen to know a girl with an "F" in her name, whom has my attention," he paused for a reassuring chuckle, "Hey, you know about The World, right?"  
  
Her enthusiastic reply hinted that, despite being an introvert, she was a true gamer at heart – if anything, more aggressive and competitive than she appeared. "Yes, I've heard of it, I've even played it before; but I don't own the game. Why?"  
  
"Oh...well, I was thinking that we could probably meet there if it was possible."  
  
"That would be awesome. Maybe if I earn enough money from mowing lawns, I'll be able to get the game soon. Until then, I guess the phone would be an okay way of reaching you."  
  
He agreed, "yeah, that will be just fine," staring at the clock, he knew he had to bring closure to the conversation, no matter how much he didn't want to, "Hey, I really hate to go, but I have to finish my homework. Can I get your number before I leave?"  
  
"Done," Anthony breathed. His homework had taken up at least another hour of his time from The World. Algebra was easy to him. It was just doing all of the work that was time consuming. He placed the worksheets inside of the algebra book and soon afterward slammed his pencil atop it. He looked at the clock once more and decided that if he was careful not to disturb his parents, he could play in The World until midnight.  
  
Stepping lightly, Anthony made his way to the computer, placed a virtual helmet on, and started the machinery.  
  
"Hey, Elk!" Mia's voice came. The azure haired introvert turned his attention to his amethyst feline. She was standing at the mail station. It was a wooden board that held the messages of friends. So if one person passed through the town and couldn't find his friend, he would merely leave a letter on the wooden plank and be off. However, this was no ordinary piece of wood. This piece of wood possessed magical powers to keep other persons from reading what was not theirs. It would create a protective aura around the message until its rightful receiver came. Then the message would flash in all different hues, much like the aurora borealis, when the intended receiver was in the vicinity.  
  
Elk walked up to his feline companion and returned her greeting, "hi, Mia. So, what are you doing?" He asked, performing his usual head tilt act while looking at the message within Mia's hands. It was of a khaki color and was neatly rolled up in a scroll fashion. Sealing it, was a crimson ribbon.  
  
"Oh, I was reading one of my letters. Apparently, Kite is willing to come into the dungeon."  
  
Elk slightly squinted. "Kite? You mean that bracelet boy?"  
  
"Yeah, that's him. I told him that I could tell him more about the bracelet. So, he agreed to meet us at the bottom floor," Mia replied, sticking the paper back on the wall. The message quickly disappeared. The piece of wood knows when paper is to be discarded.  
  
Elk followed Mia back to the Chaos Gate. He watched her search for the correct code for the Unbeatable Monster's keep. "We're...going to head out...now?" Mia simply nodded in response. Within several seconds of the code's completion, the two were gone.  
  
'I just hope you know what you're doing, Mia..."  
  
Gosh, this took forever! And I really don't know anything about Elk's offline life, so I made up almost everything about it. If you know anything that I don't, I'll be glad to change things. Overall, I'm not very satisfied with this chapter. Some parts are okay to me, but everything else was just like "blah." Oh well, you know what they say: You're your own worst critic. I'm sorry for keeping you guys waiting so long for this. And I thank all of you whom have been with me (I.e. adding me to your favorite authors list and such) throughout this long wait. Oh, and even if you didn't review, I still thank you for reading my fiction. Please review once more for me! Thanks!


End file.
